Kansas Buffalo 1

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Both this photo and the one on the following page were taken at the Butterfield Buffalo Farm near Claudell, Kansas. Please note the baby buffalo in the photo; we were unable to get a close-up picture of the calves because the adults would surround the young when we started walking toward the herd.

Prior to the Europeans discovering North America, it is estimated there were from 30 to 70 million of these beautiful animals roaming over most of the continent. In the 1880s, a governmental campaign was sanctioned to kill these animals in an attempt to starve the native Americans so they would leave the plains. Buffalo, the largest land mammal in North America, became almost extinct with a population of 1,500 which were found only in zoos, a few US national parks and by a few individuals. The buffalo are now off the endangered list with a population over 350,000 animals. In 1975, the non-profit organization, National Bison Association (NBA) was formed to promote the preservation, production and marketing of bison. This once nearly extinct animal is now a cash crop.

A Buffalo cow usually has her first calf when she is three years old and will deliver one calf a year until she is 20 to 30 years old. Calves are usually born weighing 40 to 50 pounds in late spring (April to June) after a 280 day gestation period. In the spring they shed their fur which is considered wool and can be knitted into garments. It is strong, warm and soft and considered equivalent to cashmere. Since buffalo contains no lanolin, moths will not bother items made from it.